Libya's largest political party says will boycott congress

Reuters

TRIPOLI, July 4 (Reuters) - Libya's largest coalition in thenational assembly said it was boycotting sessions from Thursday,protesting at delays in drafting a constitution, it said onThursday.

The National Forces Alliance (NFA), formed last year byliberal war-time leader Mahmoud Jibril, has 36 out of around 80party seats in the General National Congress (GNC). The rest ofthe nearly 200 seats are held by independents.

In a news conference, its members said the GNC, thelegislature voted in last July, was too slow in drafting a lawfor electing a constitutional committee.

The constitution is to be drawn up by 60 members elected byLibyans, but the vote is still only a distant promise because ofpolitical squabbling and administrative delays.

"We have decided to suspend our participation within the GNCexcept for sessions relating to the law on the election of theconstitutional committee," NFA spokesman Tawfiq Shahibi said,adding the GNC had "wasted time" discussing secondary issues.

"The GNC has been sidetracked from its major goals."

Shahibi did not cite any examples. But for many months, theGNC debated a "political isolation" law, which bans anyone whoheld a senior post under Muammar Gaddafi from government,regardless of their part in toppling the dictator.

The law was adopted in May at the demand of armed factionsthat helped end Gaddafi's 42-year rule.

Armed violence and lawlessness caused in part by militiagroups has hobbled governance in wide areas of the oil-producingstate. In the latest incident highlighting Libya's precarioussecurity, an armed group besieged the interior ministry for athird day.

The GNC was elected in Libya's first free elections innearly 50 years, for an 18-month term to lead the North Africancountry to polls once it had decided what political system itwanted.

It will likely extend that term, given Libya is still faroff from organising elections. Shahibi said the NFA would attendregular GNC sessions once "an agreement was reached oncompleting our job within the correct time frame".

The majority of GNC members are civilian professionals andformer exiled opposition members with little or no politicalexperience or knowledge of how to run a government.